Clearing the Mist
by Mistress of Evil
Summary: -Prologue and ch1 up- It's seventh year and Hermione is Head Girl. One night in the Potions Classroom shows her that her Professor is more than a slimy, greasy, hook-nosed git. (HrSS) Rated for inference of suicide, later for language and sexuality.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: Nothing and no one belongs to me. It all belongs to wonderful Ms. Rowling and her slow careful-working mind. Apparently, due to the definition of a disclaimer, I am supposed to tell you to sue me via email. Good luck with that ;)

[a/n] Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince??? Am I the only one a little disappointed with that title?

**Clearing the Mist**

Prologue:

I trudge slowly up the steps to the Astronomy Tower. The door opens slowly at the wave of my wand. The room is empty and filled with the cold air of the dying days of winter. A few flakes of snow still rest on the windowsill from the midday flurries. I close the door and walk across the room to the window, my footsteps resounding on the stone floor. I take a seat on the windowsill and look out on the grounds. The night is clear and the faint light of the waning moon creates a shimmer on the sloping lawns of the school. The lake reflects the night sky like a mirror in the absence of wind. The trees look dead, with their branches naked and cloaked with snow. Only at night can I feel like I am part of this world…part of this dead world of winter. Now, as winter comes to a close and spring comes in, I know it is time for my departure. I cannot live on as this world celebrates new life and rejuvenation. I am too dead inside to enjoy life.

I reach inside my bag and draw out a small journal. This will be my last letter to the world.

I want everyone to understand why I did the things I did. I want my memory to live on, not as a scandal, but as a story.

How could a seventeen year old Head Girl allow herself to fall into the clutches of a forty year old Potions Master? That is the question that will always be affiliated with my name.

I want to leave this world with the truth. I will not allow our names to remain tarnished for eternity.

Sitting here in the cold on the edge of a window, I begin to write the story…our story.

The story of how we fell in love.

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[a/n] I know this was short, but it's just a prologue. More to come, and longer, I promise ;)


	2. Advanced NEWT Potions Class

DISCLAIMER: Last I checked I was still too poor to own any of the afterwards mentioned characters.

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Chapter One: Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions

"Professor Snape would like a word with you after the feast, Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall had told me upon my arrival at Hogwarts.

_What does he want with me?_ I asked myself as I made my way down to the dungeons after showing a group of first-years to Gryffindor tower. _Term hasn't even started, how could I already by in trouble?_

The corridor to the Potions classroom was musty and damp from being uninhabited all summer. I assumed all the Slytherins were in their Common Room because I couldn't hear anything other than my own footsteps walking quickly toward the classroom. When I reached the room I knocked confidently on the open door and stood waiting on the threshold. I heard Snape's cold, authoritative voice call me inside. I walked slowly up to his desk at the front of the room where he was seated reading a very thick and ancient textbook.

"Thank you, Ms. Granger for finding the time to meet with me. I understand that as Head Girl _and_ a member of the insufferable Trio of Wonders you have a _very _strict schedule," Snape said sarcastically.

"It wasn't a problem at all, professor," I replied calmly.

"Maybe not, but we do have a serious problem we must deal with," he saed as he stood up and walked toward his office. He motioned for me to follow, which I did. Once inside he closed the door with a moderate slam and walked swiftly up to his large desk. I could feel the anger emanating from his face. "I noticed you have not signed up for Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions this year, Ms. Granger. Why is that?"

_Because you're a mean, unfair git!_ My thoughts answered immediately. Thankfully, my words did not jump out of my mouth and I was able to speak calmly and vaguely in answering his question. "I didn't feel like Potions was the proper subject in which to focus my specialties."

"That's a lie, Ms. Granger, and you know it!" Snape spat. "You dropped out of my class because Potter and Weasley pressured you to. They did abysmally last year and convinced you to follow them in dropping out."

He paused for a moment, looking at me and waiting for a response. I gave in to his accusation and hung my head in shame. "I suppose you are right, professor."

"Ms. Granger, you cannot let those two rule your life! You are the most talented witch I have ever met. You have a future in Potions, I wish you could see that!" he exclaimed vehemently. "Just because arrogant Potter thinks he doesn't need Potions to become some overpaid Quidditch player doesn't mean you have to follow him." There was a momentary silence in which Snape thought deeply before conjuring a cauldron on his desk top. He ran to his private stores and threw a number of carefully, though quickly, measured ingredients into the cauldron. After a few clockwise stirrings, a faint green mist rose from the cauldron. "What do you see, Ms. Granger?"

For a moment I felt like I was in Trelawney's poor excuse for a Divination class, but then I heard the answer in my head screaming loud and clear. "Wormwood base…powdered root of asphodel…essence of belladonna…moonstone, I believe, but the green mist is ultimately the result of…powdered hellebore. Professor, is this the Draught of Invisible Death?" I ask in awe.

It must have been my imagination, but it seemed as if Snape had actually _smiled_ at my deduction. "You see these potions for what they really are. You appreciate their beauty; I can see it in your eyes. If you walk away, it'll be the end. Hermione, Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions has had your name on the enrollment list since you arrived! You have what it takes to make the most powerful of potions; don't waste it on something below your level of intelligence." With a murmur of a spell the cauldron was cleaned. He picked up his ingredient and carried them back to his storage room. As he disappeared into the little room he called, "I'll see you in class first thing tomorrow morning, Ms. Granger. Have a pleasant night."

As I walked back toward Gryffindor tower, one question seemed to be haunting my mind: _Did he call me Hermione?_ He had never before shown the slightest interest in me. Now, when I decided that I was going to leave the world of Potions, he came clambering after me. For some reason he saw it as his personal mission to bring me back into Potions class. It wasn't as though I didn't want to be in Potions, as a matter of fact, I thoroughly enjoyed the subject. It was Snape who I didn't like, and he had the tendency to strip Potions of everything remotely enjoyable. Tonight I had seen a different side of him. What was it all about? Why did he think it was so important that I was in his Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions class?

I shrugged off my questions, figuring that they would eventually be answered or they wouldn't, it was up to Snape himself and whether or not he felt the desire to enlighten my curiosity.

With my mind still raging in confusion, I entered Gryffindor tower for a greatly desired night's sleep.

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[a/n] Yes I noticed this is not too long, and I'm sorry. It's late and I had some stupid determination to knock out ch1 of this story-on-a-whim. Review or I'll lose the urge to write! Please! I NEED YOU! in the style of Romeo RE-VIEW-ER!! RE-VIEW-ER!!!


	3. Scarab Beetles and Bezoars

DISCLAIMER:   Much against my will, I do not own anyone involved.  Mind you, if I did Sirius would still be alive!! (I know he's not in this story, but what the hell, he's still mine!)  Please, lawyers of JK Rowling, please, please disregard the last three words of the statement in parenthesis.  Sirius Black does not, I repeat DOES NOT belong to me…yet ;)

[a/n]  Thank you for all your reviews, and yes, this chapter is longer, I have satisfied all of your wishes.  I'm sorry if you notice anything accidentally written in the Present Tense.  Target for Betrayal is my other fic.  It's about 128,000 words and it's in Present Tense.  Let's just say it's difficult not to get sucked back into the present.  Please be kind in pointing out anything in the inappropriate tense! Much love, my reviewers! M.O.E.

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Chapter Two:  Scarab Beetles and Bezoars

The first day of my Seventh Year was upon me.  I spent the majority of my time for breakfast directing scared and confused first-years to the Great Hall.  How they could get lost on their way to breakfast was beyond me, but I directed them kindly, eager to help.  I found myself admiring the Head Girl badge pinned to my robes.  I worked so hard to achieve this status.  Finally I felt like my work paid off.  I glanced at my watch and saw that I had fifteen minutes before my first class of Seventh Year:  Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions.  I sighed and shook my head.  _How did I manage to get sucked back into Snape's class?  _

I walked into the Great Hall and took a seat next to Ron, who was too immersed in a conversation about Quidditch with Harry to even notice my presence.  I grabbed a few pieces of toast, ate them in now hurry, drank an entire goblet full of pumpkin juice, picked up my bag and walked out of the Great Hall.  The sad thing about the whole thing was neither Harry nor Ron paid me any attention.  I walked down to the Potions room cursing the entire male gender, as I have found myself doing on various occasions.  I walked into the dismal classroom with only a few handfuls of others.  The class was small, especially taking into consideration that all four houses were included in this class.  I took a seat near the front next to Padma Patil, the intelligent Prefect from Ravenclaw.  I was barely able to say hi to her when the door of the classroom slammed shut.

"I hope that each useless piece of dimwitted filth sitting in this room realizes the exclusiveness that is Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions.  This class was designed only for the brightest and the best…sadly, I am left with you for a class," he says cruelly with a smirk on his face as he strides across the front of the room.  "This class will be more difficult than anything else you have faced at this school, and is not for the weak of heart or slow of mind.  You are in here because you have the possibility of being successful; mind you I doubt any of you have a chance in my class.  Nevertheless, I am here to teach you the material whether or not you have the intelligence to put it to good use.  Put away your books; let's see just how much you remember."

_What have I gotten myself into?_ Was the only thought going through my brain from the moment Snape opened his mouth the time I sat down in Advanced N.E.W.T. Transfiguration.  For one shining night I thought that maybe Snape had changed, maybe fighting against the same Dark Lord had given us some sort of bond.  Obviously I was wrong.  He was still the same slimy, greasy, hook-nosed git with no respect for anyone.  I started wondering, as I climbed the marble staircase and walked down the hall to McGonagall's classroom, what I would have to do to drop out of Potions.  Would I have to talk to Snape or could I just go through McGonagall or Dumbledore?  I shook my head in disbelief.  What had been going through Snape's head last night?  Why had he been so adamant to enroll me in his class?  He didn't seem too happy to have me in his class today.  I answered every question he threw at me correctly, yet he still found a way to make me into an "insufferable know-it-all".  I walked into Transfiguration still grumbling about being trapped in Potions and took my usual seat between Ron and Harry.

"Hermione, where have you been?" Harry asked me, jerking me out of my angry mutterings.  "What happened to being in Care of Magical Creatures with us?"

"I dropped it," I said with a sigh.  Both of their jaws dropped and their eyes seemed to pop out of their heads.  They stared at me, too shocked to speak, waiting for me to continue.  I hesitated in telling them the truth, unsure whether their jaws or eyes could handle any more shocking news.  "I enrolled in Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions instead." 

"WHAT?!" Ron shouted as he jumped out of his chair.  "You've got to be joking!"

"Sorry, Ron, no joke," I said with a sigh as I pulled out my Transfiguration book, parchment, and quill. 

"Seriously, Hermione," Harry said quietly, "why did you switch classes all of a sudden?"

I hesitated for a moment.  I wasn't sure what to tell him.  "Snape enrolled me in his class," I answered, deciding to tell only _part_ of the truth.  "I suppose he figures I'll do well in his class."

"That doesn't seem very fair!" Ron spat angrily as he retook his seat.  "Does that son of a bitch think he's so much smarter than everyone else that he can just change your schedule without your permission?

"He _had_ my permission," I responded shortly.  "Now let's just drop it."

Harry and Ron, who had just opened their mouths to respond quickly closed them and turned away from me when Professor McGonagall strode in ready to put us through the Hell that was Advanced N.E.W.T. Transfiguration. 

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Ron and Harry hadn't mentioned my schedule change after Transfiguration on Monday.  Well, actually, Ron made several angry attempts to bring it up, but was stifled by Harry's foot slammed onto his.  I thanked Harry when Ron wasn't around, and he always said, with a smile, "What's done is done, why make a big deal about it?"

When Monday came back around, I was sitting in the Great Hall listening to Ron advise Harry on who should be added to the team this year.  When I finished chapter seven of _A Whole Lot of Magical Herbs and Fungi for the Oddly Obsessed,_ I said goodbye to them and headed off for the Potion's classroom.  I walked slowly, not wanting to be too early.  I head just made it down the stairs when I found Padma Patil walking ahead of me alone.  I called to her and the two of us walked to Potions together.  We took the same seats we sat in last week and began taking out our supplies. 

Snape strode into the room and everyone fell silent.  He eyed every one of us carefully, and I had the distinct feeling that his eye stayed on me longer than anyone else.  I fought the urge to drop my gaze and stared him back.  When he moved on I felt a strange sensation of relief. 

"Coagulating Concoction," Snape spat.  He wove his wand and the chalkboard filled with instructions in a tiny script.  "Read carefully.  Begin."

It took me a moment to realize there would be no explanation, no clarification, and no suggestions of any kind.  This was Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions; "if you can't follow simple directions, get out" was the motto. 

We were half-way into class before things went wrong.  I caught myself just before I added crushed scarab beetles to my pale blue potion.  The directions on the board were written in such a way that if you didn't read them slowly several times, you would add the beetles at the wrong time and achieve disastrous results.  I carefully set down my beetles and reached instead for the bezoar.  I glanced out of the corner of my eye and noticed something that made the hair on my neck stand up and my blood run cold.  Padma's bezoar was lying abandoned beside her cauldron, and in her hand was a bowl of crushed scarab beetles.

"PADMA NO—!" I screamed, but it was too late.  The beetle dust fell into the cauldron, turning the pale blue potion deep crimson.  She looked at me, confused.  I waited in terror for what seemed like an eternity, though it was only about four seconds.  Then it happened:  the potion exploded with a deafening _bang!_  I saw Padma dive out of sight under her desk, but I didn't act fast enough.  The potion flew into my eyes and I screamed in pain as the burning intensified.  I brought my hands to my eyes, about to try to remove the burning potion, but cold firm hands stopped me.  The hands grabbed my wrists just centimeters from my eyes and brought them down to my waste. 

"Whatever you do, do _not _touch your eyes," came the stern voice of Professor Snape.  He sounded very worried.  "Ms. Patil decided she would rather make a very vicious Blinding Potion instead of the Coagulating Concoction.  It's harmless to the skin, but fatal to the eyes.  PATIL!" he shouted, making me jump.  "Take Ms. Granger to the Hospital Wing immediately and explain the situation to Madame Pomfrey.  As soon as you have done that, return here to clean up.  Start preparing your excuses, Ms. Patil, or you will be out of my class before lunchtime." 

Padma led me out of the Potions classroom up to the Hospital Wing.  Tears were streaming down my face, but each tear was so painful it brought more.  The tears were reacting with the potion and creating something even more painful than it had been moments ago.  I had a Blinding Potion in my eyes.  I was terrified.  Would I really go blind?  Was there a possibility that I wouldn't get to Madame Pomfrey in time?  What if it was already too late?

Before I had time to completely absorb myself in morbid thoughts, I heard Padma open a large door and scream, "MADAME POMFREY!!" The sound of rushing footsteps told me that the nurse was approaching. 

"Dear girl, what happened?" she asked, sounding appalled. 

"A B-blinding Potion," Padma stuttered. 

"Dear, dear," Madame Pomfrey tutted as she took me by the hand and led me to a Hospital bed.  I carefully lied down and waited for her to return.  "Thank you, dear, you may leave," she called to Padma.  I heard the door to the Hospital Wing open and close and figured Padma must have left.  "Don't worry, Ms. Granger, this should do the trick," the nurse said in a calming voice. 

I felt a cold, thick cream being spread over my eyes.  The cream brought instant relief and my mind was suddenly cleared of all thoughts of _"Kill me, please!"_ She spread on two layers before telling me to sit still and rushing away again.  She came back and set something that sounded heavy and made of stone on the nightstand next to me.  She dipped something—a rag, I assumed—into the liquid and rung it out.  She carefully wiped the cream off my eyes.  Using another cloth she dried my eyes, only to reapply the cream.  This series of on-cream, off-cream was repeated a number of times.  Finally, she took the cream off for the last time. 

"I'm going to wrap an eye-cloth around your head, just to remind you to keep your eyes clothed, Ms. Granger."  She wrapped the cloth around my head and I laid my head back on the pillow.  "I must keep you here the rest of the day.  We will see how you are doing around dinner time.  It doesn't usually take very long for this cream to restore you to perfect vision, but it's different for everyone."  With a quick reminder not to open my eyes, she left me alone.  My eyes still stinging slightly, but nothing compared to the burning pain I suffered through earlier.  Having nothing better to do, I let myself fall asleep.

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[a/n] Hee hee, I can see you, fanfic reader! I know you are reading; now you must review!! Bwah ha ha!!! …Please? :)


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